


Night of the Ball

by Jmax523



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: Background Relationships, Carrying, F/F, F/M, Love Confessions, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26667286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmax523/pseuds/Jmax523
Summary: Sometimes all you need for a proper confession is a scrape with attempted murder.
Relationships: Player Character/Merula Snyde
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	Night of the Ball

The Celestial Ball. You had spent the last four days helping all of your friends get themselves, and even the ball itself, ready for tonight. You had put so much focus on helping, in fact, that when the time came to find a date, all of your friends had already paired off. In fact, by the time you noticed you didn’t have a date, even Merula had, apparently, found several people that wanted to go with her, though you didn’t know who she picked. Not that you cared who Merula went with, of course.

Actually, looking around the groups of dancing people, you didn’t see Merula anywhere. You stood up from the table you had been parked at during most of the ball and gave another scan of the Great Hall, and she was nowhere to be found. For some reason, you felt something in your chest get heavy, and some part of you in the back of your head got worried.

Why do you care where she is? You asked yourself, She’s probably just late, or alone with her date. On that last word, you took a deep breath, reasoning that you just needed to stand, and leaned up against a wall of the Great Hall.

Penny walked up to you and smiled, thanking you for your help, but as you spoke to her, that weight in your chest grew heavier, and you cursed yourself, trying to figure out why you felt like this at what had been such a fun party.

* * *

Suddenly, you heard a short scream from the distance, in the direction of the Courtyard. It was cut off so quickly that only the people already near the door, namely you and Penny, could hear it.

“Huh, that sounded like Mer-” Penny had turned around when she heard the noise, and as she turned back to you, she saw that you were already gone, and the door of the Great Hall swung shut behind you.

You sprinted down the hallway to the courtyard, drawing your wand from the ball outfit Andre had put together for you. While it was certainly fashionable, it wasn’t great for moving fast, and it took you a few seconds before you reached the stairs to the courtyard. When you did reach the stairs, you took about two steps before leaping down them and crouching as you hit the bottom, your wand drawn, and you rose into your dueling stance.

The courtyard was quiet, and you slowly scanned the courtyard, trying to sneak over to the roofed corridors surrounding the courtyard proper. In the far corner of the courtyard, you can make out the silhouette of a person in a hood, looking down at something in the corner. 

You crouch back down, sneaking around to the back of the figure in the hood, and you look down to see what they’re looking at. 

Your chest seizes as you spot Merula, petrified on the ground, lying on her back just in front of the figure in the hood, a small pool of blood forming around her on the stones of the courtyard.

Immediately you leap up, sprinting at the hooded figure.

“ _Petrificus Totalus!_ ” you yell, and a bolt of grey light shoots from your wand, striking the figure before they can turn around to face you. 

As you get closer, you step between the figure and Merula, pointing your wand again, “ _Depulso!_ ” 

A blast of blue light launches your petrified target into the center of the courtyard, and you immediately whirl around, kneeling down and hovering your wand over Merula. 

“ _Finite Incantatem,_ ” You mutter over Merula, and as the tip of your wand glows white, she blinks for a moment as her limbs loosen from her sides.

“So that’s how it feels to have someone try to kill you…” Merula groans, and you grin.

“You get used to it. Fun, right?” You joke as Merula narrows her eyes at you.

“I had it under control,” She frowns, “I didn’t need help, least of all from you.”.

“And yet, here I am,” You reach your arms underneath Merula, lifting her into a bridal carry, “You have your wand?”

“...got me before I could get it out,” Merula grumbles, her voice shaky and uneven, pausing in between words, “I don’t... need your help, I’m fine.”.

“I’m sure, but we’re going to Madam Pince anyway,” you roll your eyes as you start carrying Merula back to the courtyard stairs.

“Figures you get stood up and almost murdered on the same night, eh?” You joke, trying to distract yourself from the feeling of Merula’s blood on your hands, and when you ask, she gives you a confused look.

“When... did I get... stood up?” Now it was your turn to be confused, looking down at Merula as you climbed the stairs.

“Your date, whichever of those people you ended up picking from your list?” You explain, “Unless you were thick enough to go to a dance with someone who wanted you dead, I didn’t see anyone else out there.”.

Merula’s voice lowers, “...didn’t go with… any…” Merula tucks into your arms, slowly relaxing until she goes limp, and you quickly pick up your pace to the Hospital Wing. 

With both of your hands occupied, you kick open the door to the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pince, immediately registering the situation, points you to an open bed that you set Merula in. 

You stand near the entrance to the Hospital Wing, nervously pacing until Madame Pince tells you it’s safe to approach. You walk up to the bedside of a heavily-bandaged Merula, pulling up a chair and sitting down. You slip your hand under the blanket of the cot, tucking Merula’s hand into yours. You feel a faint pulse, and you release a sigh you didn’t notice you were holding. 

You put your head down on the edge of Merula’s bed and stay there until Madam Pince tells you for the fourth time that visiting hours are long over.

* * *

The Great Hall is empty by the time you make it back, all that’s left is Rowan standing by the entrance with Penny, who's trying to explain the situation.

When you step through the door, Penny immediately locks eyes with you, and you instinctively recoil as she bolts at you and wraps you in a bear hug, “(Y/n)!”.

“Where the hell have you been?” Rowan walks up next to you as Penny releases you, “Penny says you vanished to go chase some random noise.”. 

“Someone attacked Merula,” You explain, “I had to go help her, she could’ve died!”

“ _You_ could’ve died!” Rowan flicks your ear, “You should’ve told us what was going on before you put on your finest shining armor!”. 

“Um, speaking of gleaming armor,” Penny gestured to your torso, “You’ve got red on you.”.

You look down, and you notice that most of the front of your ball outfit is covered with splotches of blood. 

“Noted. I’m, uh, gonna go change… The ball was great, Penny, sorry about, um, this,” you point over your shoulder, awkwardly starting towards your common room. 

“Don’t worry about me, (Y/n)” Penny reassures you, “I’ll see you in class!”.

“Let’s get this blood off you, mate,” Rowan claps you on the shoulder, following you to your common room. 

Thankfully, your common room and dormitory are empty, as it looks like most of your housemates are asleep, and the few that are awake are too tired to pay you any mind. 

As you’re changing, Rowan asks you something from their bed in your dormitory, “Did you know it was Merula that was in trouble?”.

“Well, me and Penny heard someone scream, and I recognized her voice, so, yeah, I knew it was her,” You fold up your ball clothes and tuck them under your bed, telling yourself to find a way to wash them.

“Penny and I,” Rowan corrects, and they block the sock you throw at them with the book in their hands, “So, why go help her? Haven’t you two been at each other’s throats since you met?”. 

You could think of a myriad of answers, but none of them felt right. You thought about how you felt thinking about her going with someone, and the fear that gripped you when you saw her out in the courtyard, but why? Why would you even care about Merula like that, to begin with, unless…

“Rowan, _I think I’m in love with her._ ”.

“Finally,” Rowan doesn’t even look up from their book, and you shoot an incredulous look at Rowan, “What do you mean, ‘Finally’?”

“I mean,” Rowan looks up, “You’ve been showing off to her in Potions, you’re constantly practicing your dueling for her, I mean, think about how upset you got when you heard she had a date to the ball.”.

“She didn’t have a date,” You mention, “She was alone when she was attacked.”.

“Hm, she mentioned having a date quite a few times,” Rowan mused, “I wonder why she would tell you that so many times if she didn’t have one…”.

“You know why, don’t you?” You ask Rowan, who nods, a smug smile on their face, “Yeah, but I’m not gonna tell you.”.

“What? Why?” You demand, and Rowan goes back to reading their book, “You’re the detective, figure it out.”.

“You want me to ask her,” you quickly deduce, sighing.

“Yup, now get some sleep,” Rowan flicks the light on their side of the dormitory off, “you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”.

You oblige, dropping down into your bed and falling asleep.

* * *

The next day is Sunday, so as soon as you’re up that morning, you hurry to get down to the Hospital Wing, before purposefully slowing your pace as you approach the door. 

Madam Pince lets you in, and you return to Merula’s bed. She’s still asleep, so you pull a chair up to the bed, and sit down, looking up at Merula’s sleeping face. 

After a few moments, Merula’s eyes slowly drift open, quickly morphing into a familiar glare as she spots you.

“Why are you here?” Merula spits, “Come to rub how you saved my life in my face some more?”.

“Why did you lie about having a date?” You ask, and Merula’s sneer shifts for just a fraction of a second, anyone else would have missed it, but you’ve known her too long. 

“Why would you care, (l/n)?” Merula snipes, and you put your head down on the bed, trying to get yourself to answer.

“Because I…” You took a breath, you couldn't believe you were about to say this, but there was no going back now.

“Because I wanted to ask you,” You finished, “and I thought I was too late when you started saying you had a date.”.

You look up at Merula, and you can’t actually place the look on her face. Some terrifying mix of confusion, anger, and embarrassment struck Merula as she covered her mouth with her hand. 

“Why would you ask me, (l/n)? I thought we hated each other,” Merula asked, and you shook your head, you’re this far in, you might as well commit to this stupid idea.

“You’re driven, you’re determined, you’re one of the cleverest witches I’ve ever met...” You start talking, some part of you that’s been there for a lot longer than you thought takes over, and the floodgates open, “...You’ve pushed me to be my very best at all times, I wouldn’t be the person I am without you.”.

“I suppose the short version is…” You hang your head down, you know that everyone who hears of it is going to mock you for it for the rest of your life, but to hell with it, “I’m in love with you.”.

For a second, Merula doesn’t respond. Then another, and another. Every second of silence stretches on for a lifetime, and you can’t bring yourself to meet Merula’s gaze.

“I lied because I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t have anyone,” Merula answers after what feels like an eternity, “I saw you there with all your friends, and I thought that you were bound to go with one of them.”.

“Why not ask Barnaby or Ismelda?” You ask quietly from your slumped position. 

“They’d already asked each other,” You couldn’t see it, but Merula’s face was turning slightly red, “Besides, I wanted to ask… well… _you_ , (l/n).”.

“I didn’t, because, well, I thought you hated me, that’s just how we’ve always been, and I didn’t want to look like a moron in front of you,” She added, and you tilted your head up, and her eyes dropped down to her feet.

“Since when do you care what I think of you?” You ask, and Merula rolls her eyes, a gesture that’s oddly comforting to see, almost like this was just another hallway argument between you two.

“You really haven’t figured it out?” Merula turns away from you, and you straighten your back in your chair, waiting for her answer.

“ _I love you too_ , you dolt.”.

“You’re kind, and caring, and almost as skilled as me in dueling…” As she talks, Merula slowly turns to face you, both of your faces now growing red.

“...And you’ve done so much to help me, even after I’ve been so horrible to you and your friends…” Merula looks down, her face filling with shame, and you tentatively reach out to touch her shoulder.

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s mostly Ismelda that freaks us out these days,” You offer, and you can see the edge of Merula’s lips flick into a smile for just a split second. 

“Well,” Merula shrugs, “It’s all out there now, what’s your plan now, (l/n)?”.

“I have an idea,” You stand up, and lean over Merula, planting a kiss on her nose.

Merula blinks, almost like she’s trying to process what just happened. After a moment, both of you turn a bright red, immediately staring down at your feet. 

“Figures that you’d miss…” Merula mutters, obviously trying to keep up her competitive nature, and you laugh.

“Want me to try again?” You ask, and Merula mumbles down into her crossed arms. You lean in closer to her, “I didn’t catch tha-”.

Merula suddenly snaps up, grabbing the sides of your head and kissing you, pulling you closer to her bed without breaking the kiss. 

When Merula finally breaks away, you smile, this was going to take some explaining to the others, and you knew it was going to make your hunt for the vaults a little more complicated.

But as you look into Merula’s scarlet eyes, you catch a small smile on her face, a pure, genuine, and almost loving smile, and suddenly it’s all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> (So it turns out I really like this ship and now I’m just going to be sitting here feeding my own addiction, so here’s another one of these.)
> 
> (As always, if there's somewhere I can improve or something you liked, let me know, and thanks for reading! If for some reason you want to talk more about what I do here, or you're just sick of waiting for me to update and want to harass me personally, you can find me here: [Tumblr](https://jmax523.tumblr.com/))


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